


The Sewer Is A Dangerous Place

by Omigosh_A_Turtle



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, I'm so sorry Mikey please forgive me, If you know me from Twitter you knew this fic was coming, Implied/Suggested Death, Legit just pain, Panic Attacks, TCEST DNI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28668954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omigosh_A_Turtle/pseuds/Omigosh_A_Turtle
Summary: Mikey who is unable to sleep, ventures deep into the sewer, seeking a distraction and wanting to prove to his brothers and himself that he can be brave. But during this venture Mikey is going to find out just how dangerous the sewer can be.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	The Sewer Is A Dangerous Place

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, so this is my first Rottmnt fic, so I apologise if Mikey is a bit ooc.
> 
> Regardless I hope you enjoy.

The rain hit the pavement of the streets of New York city harshly, forming puddles amongst the empty streets. Thunder rumbled above the buildings, almost like a warning to anyone outside to stay indoors. The sky was a dark grey, not a speck of blue could be seen. The bad weather had left the city covered in a deep fog, making it hard to see, it was almost as if the fog was devouring the buildings, devouring the city, swallowing it up in its hungry maw. The streets were empty, which was such a differing contrast to how the streets of New York normally were, normally teeming with life and crowded beyond belief, were now empty, deserted, as if everyone had just vanished, but instead everyone remained indoors, not wanting to risk the elements and end up getting drenched in the downpour.

Underneath the streets of New York, deep in the sewers, in the lair that four mutant turtles and a mutant rat called home, one small box turtle remained wide awake, staring up at the ceiling in his bedroom, bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep. He had been tossing and turning in his bed since he had collapsed onto it, he wanted to sleep he could feel the call of sleep, calling to him, beckoning him, but his mind was racing and every time he closed his eyes the sound of lightning or the rumbling of the thunder above jolted him back awake. With a sigh he gave up on trying to sleep, he just couldn't, the noises from the weather, the battering of the rain echoed in the sewers like a haunted melody and the crashing and uproar of the thunder and lightning had stopped him from getting a wink of sleep. Normally Mikey could sleep easily, well, easiest when comparing him to his other brothers, who all struggled with actually falling asleep. But tonight was different, because of the weather, it brought back memories he had tried so hard to shove deep inside him, tried so hard to forget, memories he thought he had buried so deep that they could no longer come back and hurt him, yet, here they were flashing in his mind. The fight with the Shredder on the docks, the sounds that were made when Shredder fluxed, sounded so similar to the sounds of thunder and lightning that it was almost identical and it scared Mikey who brought the blanket, that was wrapped around his body, closer to his face, ready to hide under his sheets, as if it could protect him. He could almost hear the heavy footsteps of the Shredder approaching, shadows of objects in his room transformed into the familiar shape of the giant armoured monster, he swore he could almost hear its growls. He wanted to hide, pop into his shell, where he is safe, safe from the monster and the thoughts and the non existent threats he kept making up in his mind.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't hide, cause if he did, if he did hide, he would only be confirming the thoughts that played in the back of his mind, that he wasn't brave like his siblings, he wanted to be brave like them, but he was just so scared.

He was also afraid that his brothers would walk in and find him hiding, especially if it was Raph, his oldest brother was already so overprotective of him, Raph would never leave him alone if he found out Mikey was hiding and what had caused him to hide.

His mind kept replaying the fight in his mind, how close the Shredder had came to actually hurting him, how the Shredder towered over him, how it showed no mercy as it just attacked and attacked, with no remorse to who it hurt or the damage it did to the city and the box turtle had to hold back a whimper as thunder rumbled above.

He glanced at the walls of his room, searching for something, anything that could distract him from the weather and the terror he was feeling, when his gaze fell upon his own artwork that littered the aforementioned walls and a small smile fell upon his face, he always loved to draw, to create something that others could enjoy even if it meant only his family could enjoy it due to the whole mutant turtle situation. The artwork and thoughts were a nice distraction from his fear and memories, it calmed him down slightly until the sudden crackle of lightning sounded above, Mikey jumped slightly and had to bite his lip hard to stop himself from screaming but he couldn't stop the small whimper that left his throat. He needed a better distraction, something to take his mind away from the weather and the memories and with another glance at his artwork he decided he would draw, spray paint another wall in the sewer.

Yeah that would take his mind away from the bad thoughts and memories, at least he hoped it would and it wasn't like he was going to get any sleep anytime soon, so he may as well do something productive.

Most of the lair walls were already covered in his artwork, so he made the decision to leave the lair and go into the sewer. He got up from his bed letting his blanket fall off him and onto the bed and he stretched, before packing all his spray paint into his bag and slinging said bag over his shoulder.

Mikey thought about where he should paint, before a thought struck him, he had wanted to spray paint the walls deeper in the sewer for quite some time, but his brothers had forbidden it, they had said he would get lost and that it was too dangerous for the box turtle. But Mikey had faced Shredder and villains and there was nothing in the sewer that could be more dangerous than villains, right?

He so desperately wanted to prove to them but more importantly prove to himself that he wasn't afraid, that he was brave, so with a nod of determination to himself and without a second thought, he walked to the doorway of his room, he paused at the doorway for a few moments and listened for any sounds of life upon hearing none he walked out of the lair, knowing that the storm above would mask the sound of his footsteps.

Once out of the lair he started to run, deeper and deeper into the sewer. He glanced over his shoulder back at the lair, no lights turned on, no shouts, no footsteps chasing after him, no yells for him to get back in the lair, he had done it, he was going to show them that he too can be brave. He couldn't wait to see the looks on his brother's faces when he came home, unscathed, after venturing so deep into the sewer, they would never doubt him again and maybe then he could finally call himself brave, with his determination growing and his fear lessening he grins to himself, as he gets further and further away from home and deeper into the unknown. The further he got from the lair the colder the sewer seemed to get and he shivered a bit from the cold, he rubbed his hands together to warm them up, still the cold doesn't deter him, he needed to do this, he had to do this, he couldn't just turn tail because it got a little cold.

He soon reached a three way intersection in the sewer, staring at the blank wall in front of him he can almost imagine it bright and colourful and in his honest opinion it would really light up the bleak and dull sewer, so he set his bag down on the ground and turns his gaze back at the wall, staring at it, deep in thought on what he could draw, but his thoughts are cut of by the sound of rushing water to his right. Mikey turned to the direction of the sound, it was faint at first, maybe a dripping pipe or something and he goes to turn back to face the wall again, but it soon got louder and louder, overpowering the sounds of the storm above, not even the rumbling of thunder could drown out the sound of the water. He squinted trying to see into the darkness, trying to see what it was and his eyes widen as he realises whatever it was getting closer to him and he screamed in fear as a tidal wave of water came crashing out of the darkness, heading straight for him, but the box turtle's legs felt like metal poles dug deep into the earth, they were so heavy and wouldn't even twitch even when he tried to move them, his mind screams at him to run, but his legs just wouldn't move, no matter how much he screamed in his mind to just move, he couldn't.

The wave smacked into him, knocking him off his feet and he is soon taken by the current of the water, being dragged deeper into the sewer. The water washed him through the sewer, taking him down different paths and he was being battered and smashed around by the water, he was smacked into the walls of the sewer and he even finds himself being slammed into the ground of the sewer making him gasp from the shock and pain, immediately he inhaled a mouthful of water. He quickly snaps his mouth shut as his body shook with the need to cough the water up, but he clenched his jaw shut not wanting to inhale anymore water. His lungs started to burn from the intrusion of the water.

His shell knocks into a pipe that is jutting out of the wall and he scrambled to cling to the metal object, he clung onto it for dear life as the water grabbed at him, trying to get him to let go, but he refused to. His lungs burn with the need to breath and he can almost feel the water he had breathed in filling up his lungs. His eyes burn from the water, small black dots start to form in his vision and in fear he shut his eyes tightly, his lungs beg him to breathe, to take even the smallest amount of oxygen but he fought it. His body screams at him and his hold on the pipe starts to weaken but he refused to let go, he can feel his consciousness starting to fade in and out as his brain screams at him to just breathe. Fear was buzzing in him, as he felt his body grow weaker and weaker and he begins to feel panic rising but it starts to fade when the water level starts to lower, and he feels his head break the surface, he gasped for air, coughing and wheezing, before puking up the mouthful of water he had swallowed, his throat burned from the action and he let out a choked sob.

Once the water level lowered down to mere puddles on the sewer flood, he let go of his grip on the pipe and fell to the floor, he let out a groan once he made contact with the floor. He curled into a fetal position and hugged his legs tightly. His body ached from being battered around and it all felt so heavy, he could feel bruises forming on his body and he was pretty sure he was bleeding, he fought back the sob that was forming in the back of his throat, tears brimmed in his eyes as he struggled to take deep breaths, to calm himself down, to stop the panic that was rising in him, but it was just too hard, he found himself shaking and his mind racing. He could hear the storm again, hear the thunder that rumbled and it scared him more than it did before, the storm masked the sounds in the sewer and it filled him with fear, that something was in the darkness watching him, waiting to strike and he wouldn't hear it coming and even if he did his body was just in too much pain. He could almost see the shadow of the made-up threat on the sewer's wall approaching the non-moving turtle, he so badly wanted to move, to run away, his breathing continued to quicken and he hid his face in his hands, he hoped the non existent threat would go away. 

He so badly wanted to hide away, no longer caring that it made him weak, that it showed others that he was afraid, because he was, he was terrified, but his body just wouldn't work with him, his body felt so heavy and he let out a sob that made his whole body shake as he continued to lay on the sewer floor. He was desperate to move or hide or something as the panic continued to grow and grow, he was gasping for breath, gripping his legs like a life-line, darkness edged at the corners of his vision and he clenched his eyes shut tightly. He hoped and begged that it would all go away and that he would find himself back at home, back in his bed, where it was safe and warm, but he knew he couldn't just wish away reality.

Once the pain in his body become nothing but a dull ache or maybe he was just so use to the pain now, he couldn't tell, he also didn't know how long he had been there, laying on the floor, but the floor was just so cold, he could feel the coldness in his bones and he shivered again, he slowly uncurled, opening his eyes and rose into a kneeling position looking around, trying, searching for anything around him that seemed familiar, anything that could lead him back to the lair, back home, but there was nothing but bare, featureless walls of the sewer that seemed to almost be mocking him, he could feel the fear coming back and he whimpered, lowering his head slighting into his shell, before slowly standing up, wobbling a bit from the numbness his legs were feeling from lying on the floor for so long. He pressed his hand against the wall of the sewer for support, staring at the ground as tears once more filled his eyes, blurring his vision, he rubbed them away with the back of this other hand but the action didn't stop the tears, as they are only replaced with more and the action made his eyes burn. The hand he had against the sewer slowly slid down the wall before breaking contact with it and falling to his side, he slowly rose his head staring straight ahead and with another whimper, he started walking, even though his body protested, he marched on, desperate to find something, anything that was familiar to him, that could lead him back home.

He wandered throughout the sewer, searching, hoping, to run into something, anything, that could help him get back home, but it was like the sewer was all the same, it almost felt like he was walking in circles, it all seemed the same, dark grey, bricked walls, so lacklustre, and desolate, it was such a depressing place to him, there was no bright colours, nothing that screamed that life thrived, in these parts of the sewers, so different to the area around the lair, this place was just so devoid of life. He wondered briefly if he was going in circles, even though he knew it was impossible, he had been walking in a straight line, not even taking any right or left turns when he came across them, scared he would get even more lost, but maybe he should've been taking those turns. Maybe he was getting further and further away from the lair, it was just so hard to tell, it all looked the same and the constant doubt of the decisions he was making wasn't helping him. He regretted not bringing his phone with him, no instead he had left it at home, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind to take it with him, it probably wouldn't have even survived the water but maybe it could've, he hates that it hadn't even cross his mind before he left to grab it, he glared at the ground, stupid...I'm so stupid... he thinks to himself. His thoughts were getting so dark, just like the sewer and he slumped against the wall, slowly sliding down it until he is sitting on the ground, bringing his knees up until they press against his plastron, he wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his face into his knees, letting out a choked sob, tears streamed down his face like a waterfall and no matter how hard he tried to stop the tears they just wouldn't stop and he almost screamed in frustration. The dull ache in his body is so familiar to him now, and the hope that he would find home being stomped out like a fire with water, he raised his head so it is resting against the wall behind him, wondering how long it had been, was his family awake now? Had they noticed he was gone? Were they even looking for him? He didn't even feel any fear or panic just the heavy feeling of despair washing over him, as he stared at the wall opposite of him, he wanted to scream, to shout, to cry, to plead for someone to come save him, but when he opened his mouth the only thing to come out is a strangled whimper, he wondered bleakly if screaming would even do anything besides wear him out, was he just going to be lost and alone forever?

The thought that entered his mind was not a kind one, it was the thought of him dying in such a sombre place, it made the tears rush down faster, the thought of dying alone in such a place and not surrounded by the familiar faces of his family, the sewer no longer felt like a safe place to the box turtle but more like a death trap, a labyrinth to get lost in forever and he hated it, he hated himself for thinking he could do this, for thinking he was brave, for thinking he could prove to his brothers that he wasn't helpless, that he could do things on his own, that he could prove to himself, that he was just as capable and brave as his brothers. The thoughts that he was having were so overwhelming and loud they screamed in his mind, they screamed and screamed, telling him such dark things, that made him sink further and further into the despair and self-hate, he covered his ears with his hands as if it would drown the voices screaming in his mind, he wished the mere act would drown the voices out, but it was like it sensed what he was trying to do and they only got louder and louder until the voices were overpowering the downpour of the rain above him, they keep talking to him repeating their words over and over again like a song on repeat, mocking him for thinking he was brave, that he could do this, the feeling in his stomach got heavier and heavier and his heart raced, as he curled into himself more and more trying to hide himself, trying to shield himself from the voices, he grinded his teeth together as they get louder and louder, screaming in his mind, blocking out any other thoughts from entering, his hands clenched into fist "SHUT UP!" he screamed out, his voice echoing down the sewer and it was almost felt like it was mocking him, he blinked a few times, the voices receding in his mind and he lowered his hands that were now shaking until they flop onto the ground. He breathed out, the voices were still there, in the back of his mind, whispering, but they weren't as loud, weren't as bad, and he closed his eyes, clenching his teeth together as a sob builded up in the back of his throat.

Mikey doesn't know how long he sat on the sewer floor, the rain still echoed in the sewer, thunder still crackled above and tears still streamed down his face. He wiped his cheeks with the palms of his hands. Slowly rose to his feet once more, his legs are numb and it hurts, everything hurts, and he just wants to give up, to lay on the ground, to close his eyes and let the darkness that claims him once his eyes close to take him, but he shook his head and tries, begs his thoughts to give him hope, to become positive, to just, give him anything but a negative thought, but he receives nothing.

Walking was getting harder for the small box turtle, each step made him wince in pain, his body felt so heavy, his legs felt so numb he can't even feel them anymore. The cold is a brutal attack on him and he shivered, his eyes are getting heavier and heavier with each passing second and he doesn't know how long he can keep going, and it scared him, he isn't just shaking from the cold anymore, but the fear also, is this really how he is going to die, is he really going to die because he was so certain, so sure he could make it back, so sure he could venture deep into the sewer and come back unscathed? He thought his brothers just didn't believe he could do it, thought he was too weak, too small, too vulnerable to do anything by himself, but he had been so very wrong, he could see that now, the sewer was a dangerous place, no dangerous didn't suit it anymore, he thinks that deadly suits it better now. He let out a sob, his body shaking from the act, he stared at his feet, his eyes so badly wanting, begging to fill back up with tears, but they just wouldn't, he doesn't have anymore tears, he had used them all. His throat is raw from the crying and screaming he had done and his body just wants to lay down and never move again, his vision blurs and he had to lean against the wall to stop himself from face planting into the ground. The darkness that would envelope him once his eyelids closed, sounded so welcoming to him, but he was scared, terrified, that if he did close his eyes they would never open again. Would his family hate him, if he died down here, alone, would they blame him, would they call him stupid for doing something so reckless? He would be fine with it if they did he thought bitterly, it was his fault, it was reckless and stupid to go so far into the sewer alone, he just wished he could see them, could embrace them in a hug, have them tell him that it was okay, that he was safe and that everything would be alright but the warm embrace and the warm words of his family felt so far away and so out of reach.

He let out a grunt as he fell to the floor of the sewer, he groaned as he made contact with the ground, his bruises ached from the fall and he hissed in pain. He tries to get back up, pleads for his body to stand back up, but it won't respond, it's all too cold, everything aches and feels numb and he feels sick but also oddly distant, everything feels far away like a wall is in between him and everything else. He just couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't get back up, couldn't get back home, it had all been for nothing, he thought he could prove that he could do something on his own and now look at him, he failed miserably and now he was going to die, was he dying, it felt like he was, the thought of dying alone and never being found, his family searching forever trying to find him only to come back to the lair empty handed, such sorrow and regret washed over him, those thoughts, so dark, so unlike him, he was normally so positive, so happy, a true ray of sunshine but he couldn't think of anything positive and even if he could it sounded so fake, so wrong to him how could he think of anything positive in this situation?

He lets out a strangled cry, begging once more for someone to find him, to come running to his aid, to help him, but he was met with nothing, but the clash of lightning from above, it was all so mocking, the storm, the sewer that was feeling more and more like a tomb the longer he laid there, it was all too much, tears brimmed in his vision, even though he had thought that he couldn't cry again, he thought he had ran out of tears, his eyes burned from the tears and he tries to blink them away, but it just makes his eyes sting and he bites his lip to stop the sobs that threatened to leak from his lips, he clenched his hands into fists, desperately trying to move, to crawl, to get home, to find his family, and he screamed out in frustration when his body doesn't respond, his vision was blurry and he could no longer tell if it was from the tears or something else, something more dark and sinister, his body continued to throb in pain, his vision was getting hazy as his eyelids grew heavy, it got to the point where it was taking everything Mikey had to keep them open, to keep himself awake, he gritted his teeth together and he snivelled as his eyes slowly started to close, he was begging himself, to stay awake, to keep his eyes open, but he could no longer keep them open and when they did close the darkness was almost welcoming the small box turtle to just it give up, to let go, it was almost embracing him in some sick, twisted form of a hug and he tried to fight, to scream, to shout and kick, but his body didn't react, no noises left his lips, as he started to slip, deeper and deeper into the darkness.

He really wondered if this was the end, if he would never see his family again, if the sewer was really going to be his tomb for all eternity, he didn't want it to be, he didn't want to give up, he wanted to keep fighting, keep clinging to the hope that he would either be found or would find his way back. He wanted to see his family again, he wanted desperately to see their smiles and to hug them tightly, but he just couldn't fight anymore, there was just no more fight left in him and he slowly lost the grip he had on his consciousness as he fell deeper into the darkness that seemed to welcome him with open arms.


End file.
